Stop Comparing Funke Akindele To Taraji P. Henson – Enioluwa

Nollywood actor, Enioluwa has come out to react to the recurring comparisons between Funke Akindele and Hollywood star, Taraji P. Henson.

He recently had his say via his social media page, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, even if he loves Taraji P. Henson a lot and admires her work, he does not understand the constant need to compare our icons to Western figures.

Eni added that Funke Akindele will remain an unstoppable box office record breaker, and she is not a version of anyone but herself.

His words, “I really don’t like seeing comments calling Aunty Funke the ‘Nigerian version of Taraji P. Henson.’

There’s a deeper layer to it—where we often view our own as lesser, especially in entertainment space. No one ever calls Taraji the American version of Funke Akindele.

As much as I love Taraji and admire her work, I don’t understand the constant need to compare our icons to Western figures. Funke Akindele is The Funke Akindele—an unstoppable box office record breaker. She’s not a version of anyone but herself.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.